In The Night, In The Dark
by aunomdelarose
Summary: On the last night of Draco Malfoy as a single man, he leaves everything behind and spends it with one person: Hermione Granger. 28 years old. And a complete arsehole, just like him. Dramione fanfic. Post-Hogwarts. EWE? Not a love story. Swear.
1. Chapter 1

It's funny, I said I wanted to quit smoking ages ago but here I am on my way to finish my first pack of the day. Now I don't have any intentions of stopping whatsoever. It's not that I could not stop myself. Those who said old habits die hard are weak-willed, and I, for certain, do not have that. Not anymore. It's not something that I can't control, it's something I just simply _chose._ There are plenty of things that are not good for us and yet we could not let go of. I have two.

The other being Hermione Granger. 28 years old. And a huge arsehole.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm an arsehole too. Far more worse than she is but no one's counting. It's not a bloody competition. This wretched attitude brought the two of us together. Not the war reform, nor the change in our beliefs. We were both scum of the earth who had no choice but to stick together.

"If you're not going to talk, you're wasting your money." She said, looking at the view of the London cityscapes on the balcony. I never much cared for Muggle things, but this was the most inconspicuous place we could hide from the world: on top of it, away from it all. Like people on exile.

"Got a lot of them to waste as I see fit."

She chuckled lowly. "And I've got an empty pocket with holes that will gladly accept it."

Lucky for me, I guess. I turned to her, leaning my elbow on the rails. Her features are more defined in the moonlight: hollow cheeks, puckered lips, and those almond eyes. It takes all of my willpower not to completely combust under the scrutiny of it. "How much more do you need?"

Her auburn eyes finally gazed at me. Somehow over time she has learned to conceal her emotions completely. From the flutter of her eyelashes to the pout of her mouth was polished into this impenetrable wall that nothing and no one can get past through. The vivacious, goody-two-shoes Granger was dead, and the person beside me is a stranger. A welcomed one, regardless of the reason. "Draco Malfoy, you don't know what you ask."

"I know perfectly well. Now tell me."

"If I named my price, would you give it to me?"

"Well, that depends."

"On what?"

"What you can do in return."

Her hands go to her hips, getting smaller by the week, the middle fingers almost touching. Her bony hands could either caress you or choke you and you wouldn't mind. "A hundred thousand dollars."

I let out a whistle. "Weasley's really milking you, huh?"

"That's what you get when you don't have a prenup." She shrugged as she stomped on her cigarette butt. "Please tell me you got Astoria to sign one."

"It doesn't matter. We believe in minding our own businesses. She has her own trust fund money and hedge funds, while I've got my own inheritance and the company."

"Well I've got to hand it to her because she's better at money than I do."

"Not to mention better at finding a husband as well." I said smugly. She shook her head with a small smile, which infected me as well. "What?"

"I'm just glad I'm not paid to agree with everything you say. Although does that get me a tip?"

"You could get a different kind of tip, but you have to be gentle first."

Hermione guffawed at this one. She's got a dirty mind now too. "Oh trust me, I can do gentle."

I watched as she bit her bottom lip, lingering there. I know that look, I just need to do one last small push. "Do you want me to get my checkbook? I can write it right now."

I stand up and move inside the mansion, which I will lose once Astoria and I finally move to the penthouse of one of my company's residential buildings. She said it was more private than an actual home. Quite frankly, I don't give a shit. I write on my check and go back to the balcony, her on her new stick. She looked at the paper in my hand and I extended it to her.

"How do I know that check won't bounce?"

"I'm an arse but I'm not a liar."

She eyed me and then slowly took the check from my hands, our fingers touching slightly. She reads it then puts it in her pocket. "So, what does Draco Malfoy want to do on his last day of being an unmarried man?"

This is not a story of two people reconciling their differences over time, finding it in their heart to fall in love with each other, and having a happy ending. This is no romantic novel. This is about two fucked up people trying to find a way to make life bearable and failing time and time again because the truth is they don't deserve it. And they know it all too well.

 **THE BEGINNING**

Draco watched his parents as they had their first dinner in Merlin knew how long. It was his mother's idea, obviously. She heard from her circle of friends that families needed to at least eat a meal together once a week to keep it intact. And especially when their only son was to be married soon, making a family of his own, she wanted to bask on their last remaining moments together.

It's a little too late for that, if you asked him.

"Such a shame Astoria could not make it tonight." She declared.

"Yes, she's quite busy."

Not true. Draco didn't invite Astoria at all. One, she would have said yes, as she once did when she met them together for the first time. And two, they would have been highly uncharacteristic, wearing the façade they always wore in front of strangers. Draco didn't like those side of his parents at all. So pretentious, unreal… fake. He grew up knowing them as the cold, strict parents that they were and he was going to keep them that way. With strangers they were chatty, loud, and cheerful. Draco preferred the silence. Just like now. They sat in one table but it's as if they were all separated by a veil, pretending not to see or notice one another. He preferred it that way.

"And the business?" His father grunted.

"Well."

The utensils clanked at the porcelain plates. Her teaspoon clinked inside the cup as she stirred her tea. Even their breaths were amplified. Just as Draco liked it.

He wondered if this was married life was like. He has only his parents as reference, after all. The monotonous, tedious life until senility, through thick and thin and thinner, to the point of boredom, was what was ahead of him. He wasn't so sure if that was what he wanted at all.

Astoria was convenient. He didn't have to put on a romantic front for her. They spent a good three years casually going out to dinners, having sex, and meeting each other's acquaintances. And at some point after all those years, Astoria dropped the hint. So did her family. And Draco's as well. He thought why not. So one night, in the middle of dinner, Draco took her hand and placed an engagement ring on. And that was how they became engaged to be married. Simple, concise, and with lesser words as possible. Just as Draco liked it.

Eventually the dinner ended, and Draco left the mansion. Astoria was on a business trip for a few days, and he was left all to himself, which was not a problem for him.

He apparated to Muggle London, through the tube, and walked up the stairs with his hands on his pockets. The crisp evening air touched his cheek as he wandered aimless through the streets. His feet somehow made him reach to the red light district, quite alive at this time of night. He went through one of the doors and sat on one of the booths all to himself. He could have called Blaise of Theo, but he needed his time alone. Just as Draco liked it.

An obvious man dressed as a woman comes on stage and announces something on the microphone. Draco couldn't care less, focusing on the glass of scotch in his hand, until he sees someone quite familiar.

It wasn't her. It couldn't be. He must be drunk but he wasn't. So it must be real.

She was wearing a black wig, cut to her chin. The red sequined dress flowed down to her bare legs as she sat on a wooden horse, the carousel turning. He shook his head and waited for it to come back. For her to come back. He stood up from his booth and waited.

Hermione Granger waved at the people with a smirk on her face, touching her bare skin, when her eyes landed on his. Her face dropped but returned when she looked away. It was real. She was real. Draco sat down and looked back at his drink, finding it hard to breathe. What world has he gone into? He drank all the contents of his glass and ordered for another round.

After an hour, something tapped his shoulders and he turned around. And there she was. In the flesh.

"What in blazes is Draco Malfoy doing in Muggle London?" She said with a stern face before breaking into a small smile. "Can I sit?"

"Please do." His eyes roamed all over her just to make sure once more. "I must be dreaming or I have gone mad."

She chuckled. "It was either up there or waiting the tables. There's less… body contact when you work up the stage."

"I can't believe you work here."

"It's only a side job. I needed the money."

"Yes, I've heard about it." He paused. "I didn't think the Weasel had it in him."

She shrugged. "You should know by now that life can be full of—", she gestured to herself—"surprises."

"Yes, I see that now."

She straightened her back. "Oh, I almost forgot. Congratulations on your engagement. Astoria Greengrass, well done."

"Thank you."

They looked around the busy bar, as men of all ages either drank or groped women.

"Can you wait for me? I just need to pack up and I'm done for tonight."

Draco would have preferred to be alone drinking. Then he would go back to his flat and lie on his bed. He wouldn't get a wink of sleep as most nights. Then when the sunlight comes, he would get up and do it all over again. His plans were set, his will determined, but something else came out of his mouth.

"Sure."

After some time, she came back, and all was right in the world once more. She looked exactly as he had remembered, except her auburn curls were shorter, just around her shoulders. Her face was bare of the intense makeup she had earlier, her freckle evident from the red lights of the bar. She was covered in her beige coat, a contrast from her revealing dress earlier. Yes, the earth has slightly returned back to its former axis. "Shall we go?"

They walked down the city streets opposite each other. Never in a million years and in different timelines and parallel universes did he think that it was possible to be walking with her without arguing or exchanging glares, and yet they were. Something wasn't quite right with the world yet. Was he having an elaborate dream? Perhaps he fell asleep at the Malfoy Mansion after dinner? Maybe he's at home, finally getting some shuteye? Because it was the only solution to this elaborate, impossible situation he was in.

"Do you want to get some coffee? I know a place, we're pretty close already."

He eyes her quizzically. "A coffee at this late hour?"

"Well, I've got another job actually. I could use the caffeine fix."

"What job is it this time?"

She looked at him suspiciously. "Curious, aren't you? Well, you know I need all the money I can get." She turned his way. "My day job is barely helping me pay for it, not to mention my rent and utilities."

"I understand you live separately now?"

Hermione nodded. "I chose to live in Muggle London so there are less eyes on me. Although I still go there for my day job, but since I have become a social pariah, it has been… unpleasant." She stopped. "We're here."

They sat across each other, nursing cups in hand. They looked at each other amicably, like strangers. They were, in a way. They were never close during Hogwarts years, in fact the closest contact they had was when her knuckles landed on his nose. The rest they spent on opposite sides of each spectrum or not acquainted at all. So how did they get here?

"So, what brings you to Muggle London?" She asked. "And at that district, no less."

He shrugged. "Just wandered there, really."

"And does your fiancée know you're here?"

"We don't meddle with each other's affairs."

"So when she's away…?" Her eyebrows rose.

"Goodness no. I usually go a different route, back to my apartment."

Her eyes widened. "You have a flat in Muggle London?"

"I get what you meant about having less eyes on you here. Although it is quite hard to be subtle, you get used to it eventually."

"Yes, I can imagine." He gazed at her and she gaped for a moment. "Well, cultural bias aside, it's like living abroad. Everything is different."

"Yes, after witnessing tonight, it is." Draco could not help but smile as she laughed. After a moment of silence, he added. "Is it necessary? To take those odd jobs?"

"It's only fair. I don't exactly entirely belong here now do I? I don't feel like I belong in the Wizarding World either. I'm just… caught in the middle." She used her stirrer. "Plus, I find it hard sleep these days. Might as well make it productive."

"I have the same problem as well." He sipped as she showed her surprise. "It's true, I just lay in bed for Merlin knows how long, and the next thing you know it's morning."

"Why don't you try a sleeping potion?"

"Why don't you?"

They both nodded in understanding.

"I should get to my other job." She put the sling of her duffel bag on her shoulder and took out her hand. "It was nice seeing you. Really."

Draco didn't know what came over him at that moment. He wasn't drunk, insane, or spellcasted. But something foreign came out of his mouth that even it surprised him when he said, "How about I pay you?"

"Sorry?"

"Spend the night with me. I'll pay you more than your other job."

Her face wrinkled in confusion and balled up anger, a face he was quite familiar with. "What—"

"Not that way, no. Just to talk. I'll pay double."

She slightly shook her head. "You are willing to spend money," she counts with her fingers. "To spend the night to talk? To _me_? Why?"

"Triple."

This time she laughed. "Have you lost your mind?"

"No. Yes. Maybe." He didn't let her go. "What do you say?"

Her eyes watched him, scrutinized him, to which he was not surprised by. He didn't know why he said those things. Maybe he was rich and had money to spend, and she was broke and needed it. Maybe he pitied her for the circumstances she was in. Maybe he wanted to feel powerful, and seeing the desperation in her, he wanted to take advantage of it. One thing was for sure, it wasn't the most noblest of intentions.

The lack of control, the certainty, with her answer and the situation, caused something to flip inside of him. For the first time in a while, he was unsettled. He knew what he wanted with his family, with Astoria, with his life. And he got them, and he intended them to stay that way. But somehow the mystery of Hermione moving to sit back down on her seat was the most uncertain thing he had at that moment.

And Merlin's beard, by some miracle, he liked it.

* * *

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I last wrote a fanfic, and to be honest, this one took a while to start. Life's been really busy but there is always time for Dramione AM I RIGHT?!

I'm also a little open-ended with how the story will unfold, but I am quite certain how it will end. Let me know what you think. Until the next chapter. x


	2. Chapter 2

**_Hermione_**

 _A three months ago..._

 _There is a saying that goes: The world is cruel, that is why we must be kind in its place. I've always thought it was the best advice because it gives you a clean conscience and a lightweight heart. And if you're lucky, the world will return your kindness. It worked when I was young, and although it was a difficult time during the Wizarding War, good triumphed over evil. The Dark Lord was defeated, and all was right in the world. Or so it seemed. As it turned out, good and evil were, instead of a two sides, mixed up together into a shade of gray. What is good for us might be evil to others and vice versa. It has become relative to one's point of view, perceptions, and even more so, feelings._

" _Don't you think it's funny how we thought we were right before, and everyone else was wrong when we were young?" I mused. "It's such an immature mentality."_

" _You certainly thought you were right most of the time."_

" _Like you didn't do the same? Calling me Mudblood and all?"_

 _He didn't seem that all surprised that the word didn't feel like acid in my mouth. "I haven't said that word in a long time."_

" _Do you ever sometimes think about time travel?" I asked as I look out the window of the coffee shop, the view of the city a distant spectacle. I used to think they looked marvelous. But maybe when you've seen them too many times in too many unfavorable circumstances, they're all quite bleak and dull. It's a reminder of how there is little time for us to rest, for life will catch up with you faster than you know._

" _What about it?"_

" _If you could have a chance to look at your life after say, fifty years, would you do it?"_

 _He thought for a moment and huffed. "No. The less I know the better. And I'm guessing you would?"_

" _It would be nice to know if I didn't fuck my life up."_

" _Language."_

" _Oh bugger off." I retorted, hiding a smile. I don't think I've said two words to him in the last few years, so my cursing must have shocked him. I can't tell though by his icy expression. At least some people don't change fully. "If I knew, I could change some things, and then the outcome would be what I wanted it to be."_

 _I felt him scrutinizing me until he added, "If I knew how my life would be like after fifty years, I would do the complete opposite. Just to know what the outcome would be like if I decided it to be completely different."_

" _You'll do anything just to screw your life over." I commented. "It's easy for you because you've got the money and means to correct it."_

" _Hermione Granger, the pessimist. Never thought I'd see the day."_

" _Well, that's what life does to you."_

" _I know. I'm not into gossip but I've heard about it. You can blame Astoria and her friends over for that." He clicked his tongue. "That Weasel. Always knew there was something rotten in him."_

" _I hurt him. I deserved it."_

" _I always thought he was going to be the one to muck it up. He's always such an idiot anyway."_

 _I shook my head. "Turns out I'm the idiot in that relationship."_

 _From my peripheral vision, I can see his eyes on me. He didn't disagree with me calling myself an idiot. Finally, someone who gets it._

" _You're human. Shit happens. You drink, and then move on." He shrugged. "You drink alcohol, don't you?"_

" _I think I've earned the rights to drink now, yes."_

" _Good, then we should go." He stood up. "I know just the place."_

 _If someone in the Wizarding World put a group of words such as 'Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger seen walking across Muggle London together', they might just send them right into St. Mungo's for a head exam. And yet, here we are._

 _He was taller than I remembered. My fist definitely can't reach that jaw anymore if this all goes down to shit. I can always kick his balls if the situation called for it. I texted my boss, said I won't be able to go to work tonight. I haven't taken any days off, so I hoped he would be able to cut me some slack. If not, there's always the money from Draco Malfoy._

 _Do I believe that he will give it to me? Surprisingly, yes. He was a git before, but he never lied. I'm not saying I trust him, it's just that there has been no instances where his credibility has been tainted. Well, from my knowledge._

" _Since when did you have insomnia?" I asked him while we walked._

 _The corner of his lip raised. "I think the better question is when I didn't, because it'll be easier to answer, which is when I get completely pissed."_

" _You've always had it?"_

" _Yes," He nodded to the right so we turned. "When one lives in a dark manor, with a large dark room, and a vivid imagination, I doubt it'll be easy to sleep."_

" _What do you think about? Ghosts? Ghouls? Your aunt Bellatrix?"_

" _Everything. Life that day. Life before. Life after. Then the next thing I know, I'm out of bed, reading or searching about something I've been thinking about." He said. "That helped in the war, but of course there was more to think about after it."_

" _Where did your family go in hiding then?"_

" _Russia."_

" _Quite large for you to be searched. Well done."_

" _Fucking freezing, though. Too many identical people. I can barely understand a word they said."_

" _Well it's a lot better than obliviating your family and sending them to Australia."_

" _Are they still in there? We're here by the way." He opened the door and we entered. After going down a flight of carpeted stairs, I should have known where I was diving my head into. There was not a lot of people, which doesn't surprise me upon looking at the tufted walls and marbled counters. The room had a high ceiling that was half lit by a chandelier. We sat down in one of the private booths opposite each other. He ordered a bottle of wine. "How come you don't stay with them?"_

" _They wanted me to, but I refused. They'll just keep berating me about getting my shit together and fixing my relationship with Ron."_

" _And you don't want to do that?"_

" _I want to. I just don't think I can get it back. Not in the same way, at least."_

" _Tell me something, Granger." He thanked the waiter for bringing the wine. Obviously red. And expensive. He poured on both our glasses. "Do you honestly want your life to go back to the way they were before?"_

 _I sighed and looked at my glass. This must cost more than my day's worth of work. "I don't know. Too many things have been said and done. Trying to get it back would just feel different."_

" _I see," He raised his glass. "To the things we lost and can never get back."_

~.~

Draco has this habit of defying anything that I say.

I should get used to it by now. Three months of talking in the late hours would have gotten me used to the fact that we will never get along. Well, not fully anyway. He likes to defy me, usually just to piss me off. It's different from the relationship we had at Hogwarts.

This relationship, however, I can't define.

I'm not his other woman. We've never had sex. Hell, we've never even kissed. All we do is talk. About anything and everything. And at night, where everyone is asleep except us.

But sometimes, I wonder.

I wonder what he thinks when he looks at my lips when I talk. I wonder what he's imagining when I say the word 'fuck'. I wonder what is the meaning of the frown in his lips when I mention Ron.

In all the times we have spent in this room, in this apartment, nothing happened between us.

And tonight will just be the same.

"Everything settled for tomorrow?" I asked him. "I think for once you should get some beauty sleep. Could work wonders for you."

"I didn't think you cared about physical attributes."

"Yes, but you do."

"True, but not with _mine_." He raised his head. "Because I don't need it."

"Ah yes, there it is. That arrogant smirk." I laughed. "Good luck with Astoria enduring that one."

He scoffed. "Who's side are you on?"

"No one's." It was my turn to smirk. "Honestly though, it's a big day for you both tomorrow. The beginning of the rest of your lives."

"Is that what you thought on you and Weasel's wedding day?"

"Sort of. I know it sounds unprogressive, but it was just what I felt. I genuinely thought I was going to start a new chapter in my life."

"Fat lot of good it did to you."

"I feel like I don't deserve to have a good life." I heard myself say. "I didn't take care of it while I had it, so I must not deserve it."

"A common life is so boring, don't you think? You of all people would know that. Doing the same thing day in and day out. Sounds tedious. I might as well just Avada myself to get it over with." He seemed proud of himself. "A good life is an illusion. A mirage. You'll keep chasing something that isn't real."

"I imagine what your mirage of a good life will be like. Maybe in a big mansion with Astoria. Big glass windows and velvet furniture. A butler waiting for you every beck and call," I answer for him. "Having a tete a tete in your tea room. Yes, you have a room especially for that, while listening to someone play a harp as you judge those around your circle."

He chuckled. "And I imagine yours to be in a small, cozy cottage in the prairie. With your own vegetable garden. You have a library because obviously. And you have twenty cats."

We both smirked at our words and looked ahead.

"I have a proposition." He said. But knowing him, he just wanted to tell me and I had no choice on the matter. "Let's time travel."

"Draco, I think you're drunk or mental."

"We'll go to the other parts of the world where it's hours ahead of us. And it'll be like looking into the future."

"Sounds poetic, it's ridiculous." We looked into each other's eyes, fighting who will give in first. "But, seeing as this is our last night, I'm in."

We traveled to Tokyo. It was morning there, a few hours ahead of us. The streets were busy with people walking here and there. There was a common air in them, a sense of purpose and direction. They knew where they were meant to go, their serious faces filled with determination. Some, perhaps tourists like me, had eyes wandering around. Their sights and sounds were different from Muggle London and I just had to look. But Draco was like the rest of them. He seemed to know exactly where to go.

We went inside a jewelry store. Their receptionists bowed their heads real low to us, and I attempted to reciprocate whilst Draco didn't even so much as bat an eyelid. The entire room sparkled with all the diamonds in their selections. Every time I look through a different shelf, they become bigger and bigger, I could almost go blind.

"Hermione, come over here."

I turned to his direction and saw that he was looking at rings. "What's all this?"

"I haven't bought a wedding gift yet."

I crossed my arms to my chest. "I thought everything was settled?"

"Just pick one, will you? If you were going to receive a gift from these, which one would you like?"

I mused over the array of jewels, all of different shapes and colors. They all would have been the perfect choice. I pointed at one. "That one."

"Ah yes, we call that the emerald cut miss. The radiants will look elegant around your finger." The lady smiled at me.

"Try it on." Draco took my right hand and wore it on my ring finger. The diamond was large, yes. I don't think I could ever earn this even if I worked until I died. Even the band sparkled, for heaven's sake. "It's simple, but nice."

"It's heavy, that's what it is. Must cost a fortune."

"This will do." He turned to the lady. "We'll take it."

"On second thought, maybe you could get a bigger stone? This seems a little small."

Draco turned to me. "Oh, you think?"

"I was teasing. It's ginormous. But if it's what will make Astoria happy, then—" I pulled the ring out of my finger, but it won't budge. "Maybe. This. Will. Be. Worth it." I groaned. "Oh no."

"What?"

"I can't get it out."

"What?"

"The ring!" I paused to look around, conscious of my loud voice. I muttered. "I can't get the ring out of my finger. I don't understand, you put it on me so well earlier."

"She'll wear it on her way out." He said to the lady, who only smiled and nodded. "I found a cat café near, should be interesting. Shall we go there next?"

I grimaced his nonchalance. "Draco, I'm not wearing this outside."

"You'll just have to keep wearing it until it comes off of your finger." He tilted his head. "Now come on."

Walking around in the streets with a beacon in your hand was a weird feeling. Some looked longer than usual. Others gave a side eye. It's not that heavy, but it had a weight on me. Draco, however, is unfazed.

I wondered what it would be like, to be actually wearing this ring for its real reason. Even though I knew it was wrong. And impossible. I won't go down that path again.

I know that he won't choose me. After our tainted past and our confusing present situation, our different social status, and our conflicting beliefs, it was doomed to end. And it has come. This may be the last time I'll ever see him.

I don't understand how he can look so unaffected by it while I'm barely holding it together.

We entered the cat café as if nothing happened. Lucky for me, cats were a great distraction. "I didn't think you'd want to go to a place like this."

"I'm indulging you. I know how you adore your cat."

"Yes, Crookshanks is the only one who hasn't changed after everything."

"I'm not at all surprised Weasel didn't take him from you."

I chortled. "Ron hates him. But not more than me, of course."

"And does that still hurt you?" He asked. "The Weasel hating you?"

I watched as his gray eyes bore into me, waiting for my answer. There was a time when he looked at me and I would scowl, then there came a point where I looked away. But those eyes saw right through me, and let me see through it in return. There's no hatred or fear left when I look into it. Only truth.

"It hurts me that I hurt him. That it has come to this." I answered. "But if you're asking if I love him, the answer is no."

I've never said that out loud. But it was true.

"Looking back, we married too young and too fast." I continued. "The war made us believe that life was something that you shouldn't take for granted. And we thought that was what we wanted. What _I_ wanted." I shrugged. "And now I know I don't."

"What do you want, then?"

"I don't know. But I know it's not that. Does that count?"

"I believe it does." A cat walked past Draco's lap and he almost stood up. "Merlin's fucking beard. Sneaky little bugger."

I smiled at his reaction. I tried to remember the moment, along with the rest of them. For it'll be the last one.

* * *

Hello everyone!

I know, I owe everyone an apology. I am so sorry for the long update. Work and life has been pretty busy, but that's no excuse. I will try harder this time, though. Thank you for your patience.

This fic will only be around 5 or 6 chapters because I feel like elaborating it further would diminish the impact it has (if there is any lol). Hope that's alright with you all! Until the next chapter! xo


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